13 Jun Because of Hate

JUAN SAYS: When we found this link on facebook which narrated the reason behind the killing of Christina Grimmie, we can’t help but wonder why. We will no longer ask what everybody else is asking: what is so wrong with being a Christian? But what kept us wondering was the fact that in a democratic country like America, why can’t people voice out their faith without being threatened by lunatics? Indeed, there is nothing wrong with being a Christian. Further, there is nothing wrong with standing up for your faith, or the lack there of. What is wrong is the propagation of hate to the point where a person’s life is wasted just because she is being hated by a certain mental person who finds offense in the gospel truth that one believes in.

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Hate crimes like this of Christina Grimmie may be too extreme for us Pinoys to understand. After all, we are the only Christian country in this side of Asia, and being a practicing Christian (no matter what the denomination) is the norm, thus speaking about our beliefs in God is applauded, if not encouraged by many.

While we feel “safe” that we have the freedom to practice our religion, or the lack there of in this country, we must understand that we too are on the borderline of hate crimes.

The recently concluded elections showed that a good number of keyboard warriors have invaded the world wide web forcing down people’s throats their beliefs for a certain candidate. They too have gone crazy threatening others who don’t share their beliefs that they will be hunted down and well… killed. There have been facebook pages that were repeatedly reported and shut down just because they do not necessarily agree with the majority of the netizens views. We may have not lost lives because of our beliefs, but we certainly have lost a lot of things – such as respect, the freedom to speak out without fear of being bullied, and that feeling of security that we can believe otherwise and not be attacked by simple-minded people just because we are different.

Certain groups have also been spreading hate in the guise of being accepted. If you do not fully understand what they espouse, then you are branded a bigot. Many have gone through the path of being shamed on social media, just because they think differently than what these certain groups would want us to swallow – hook, line and sinker.

But isn’t it that the beauty of democracy is diversity? Isn’t it that the reason why we fought for democracy was to finally be heard? Isn’t it great that while people believe in opposing things, they can still co-exists peacefully?

Instead of fighting, and shoving our beliefs in other people’s throats, and shaming them on social media, why can’t we just let things be? People will have different beliefs, and all of us – Christians, non-Christians, straight, LGBT and the like should come to terms with the fact that this is a diverse world. While we are all emotional about what our hearts are saying, we must also realize that in finding our voice in this world, we can’t drown out other people’s voices just because we can.